Principals and superintendents operating in high-choice environments are often faced with enrollment challenges as they compete for students. This case study examines the experience of a principal at Crossroads Elementary--a high-performing, culturally responsive, and innovative traditional public school that struggles to retain many of its older…

This case study explores a central office's attempt to improve its school performance by shifting from a loosely to a more tightly coupled organization through greater oversight and standardization of practice. Educational leaders and, specifically, district-level and central office administrators often negotiate between providing schools autonomy…

Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, has a reform agenda to advance school choice. Her track record includes enabling charter school growth in Michigan at taxpayers' expense with little oversight or accountability. Although an effective advocate, DeVos represents a broader policy movement to privatize American education, much of it…

This study reports on an innovative approach to dual-language instruction (DLI) at the secondary-education level and introduces the 2-1-L2 model. The context of the study is an American Government class at a public charter high school in Tucson, Arizona, where the 2-1-L2 model was used for nine weeks to structure daily 90-minute lessons into a…

The authors' school's second-grade science curriculum has always focused on trees and their role in the ecosystem during the first half of the year. Curricular goals have largely emphasized what students ought to "know" by the end of the semester, such as identifying the parts of a tree, describing the process of photosynthesis, and…

There has been a steady growth of the K-12 student population taking courses online. This study examined reasons for students to choose a public online charter school program and their perceptions of online discussion. A survey was sent to 1,500 students newly enrolled in a statewide public online charter school program. From those who responded,…

Elementary school students at a suburban K-12 charter school are facing a difficult transition into the secondary program. In an effort to ease this transition and retain students, the principal requires the secondary teachers to implement a study skills program into the daily curriculum. Initially, the teachers do not voice any objections to the…

The use of performance-based pay, or merit pay, has become a topic of increased focus in education circles in recent years. Questions about the effectiveness of these types of programs, coupled with a variety of criticisms about the benefits of merit pay, have resulted in teachers viewing this type of incentive structure with much skepticism. In…

Research demonstrates that authentic instruction is an effective form of teaching and raising student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine high school math or science teachers who had a high interest in using authentic instruction in three different school settings--an alternative school, a charter school, and a traditional…

In this study, we examined dynamics of pedagogical involvement of 39 preservice teachers (PST) as they tutored students at a charter school serving lower income, diverse students. We qualitatively analyzed PSTs' initial predictions, refections following each tutoring session, our observations of college students' lessons, and final anonymous…

The declining cost of computers and wireless networks has made laptop programs more affordable than ever. At the same time, the internet resources available to teachers and students have grown exponentially in the 15 years since web browsers first became practical. As a result of these trends, growing numbers of students nationwide are provided…

The merits of a marketplace model for public education have been among the most prominent themes in education policy discussions over the last two decades. Advocates of market approaches to education reform contend that creating a market in educational services will foster competition among providers and thus spur delivery of better services at…

US high schools appear to measure success according to the number of students admitted into four-year institutions each year. Although this is one measure, there are some schools that focus on developing important life skills needed to become productive members of society. Online surveys were sent out to alumni, students, teachers, and parents to…

Many teachers, fueled by their passion, classroom experience, and entrepreneurial verve, decide to start their own schools. With the needs of children driving their every decision, teachers can create successful schools where students thrive. In this article, teachers who established their own schools--from public charters to private…

In this article, the author discusses the dilemma between retaining and promoting students who are unprepared for the next level, and offers a solution to this dilemma. In a perfect world, every student would be academically prepared for the next grade, and there would be no need to choose between holding students back and passing them on…